What wildlife do you see on your rides?

I completely forgot about Adam the 2-humped camel who lives on the road between Petaluma and Tomales. I think he takes the prize.

I've been buzzed by vultures ("Not yet guys!").

Deer: I've seen 2 stags fighting their way across a relatively suburban road. I heard a commotion on the hill above me and stopped and there they were right out of Wild Kingdom. It was actually a little scary to be that close.

DH and I rescued a turtle from the middle of the road once.

I almost hit a 4 - 5 foot rattlesnake who was crossing Mines Road as I was descending Mt. Hamilton last summer.

We almost hit a skunk (living) at the beginning of the Mt. Tam Double last year. He was about to cross the road right in front of us. Now that would have been a miserable ride.

I don't usually see much wildlife other than your typical cat & dogs, however that said, this past weekend when I rode with everyone on the Alameda Creek Trail I saw a turkey... smack dab in the middle of the trail :eek: I slowly approached it since I had *no* idea where it was going to go.

Later on, I saw more turkeys just walking around on a hillside. :)

Mel

MP--surely you didn't see a 45 foot long rattle snake, right?!? :eek: Does that say "4.5" or "4-5"? The camel does win the prize so far, IMHO. L.

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Originally Posted by Lise

MP--surely you didn't see a 45 foot long rattle snake, right?!? :eek: Does that say "4.5" or "4-5"? The camel does win the prize so far, IMHO. L.

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wow that would be a big snake! I meant 4 - 5 feet..... thanks for catching the typo!!!

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Originally Posted by maillotpois

I almost hit a 4 - 5 foot rattlesnake who was crossing Mines Road as I was descending Mt. Hamilton last summer.

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I wonder if it's any relation to the rattlesnake that was crossing Crothers Rd that I almost hit this past Sunday as I was descending the other side of Mt. Hamilton. Gahhhh.

Speaking of wildlife of sorts on Crothers Road, very near the location of the DMD Crothers Road rest stop there was a pasture with llamas. Maybe if they have the rest stop there again next year they could call it "Pet the Llama"?
Uh, or not.

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Originally Posted by jobob

I wonder if it's any relation to the rattlesnake that was crossing Crothers Rd that I almost hit this past Sunday as I was descending the other side of Mt. Hamilton. Gahhhh.

Speaking of wildlife of sorts on Crothers Road, very near the location of the DMD Crothers Road rest stop there was a pasture with llamas. Maybe if they have the rest stop there again next year they could call it "Pet the Llama"?
Uh, or not.

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llamas are actually pretty engaging and friendyl. a pair of them came running over to watch us at the solvang double. at the dmd pet the goat spot, the goat lives with a llama who was apparently very mad about his roomie being gone for the day - spitting on owner, etc.

there's a ranch in petaluma called "shangri-llama".

Alittle OT but Saturday I did a "wildflower" training hike with a bunch of fellow docents. One of the younger docents liked to pick up fallen logs and other debris. We were never disappointed. Each time there was a snake hiding out - no rattlers - several garters and gopher snakes. We also watched some stalks of tall mustard go underground - I guess there was a gopher nibbling at the roots. Yes I started to get alittle bore on the training hike. We did 3 miles in 5 hours! :eek: Can you imagine????

Baby emus! Oh, and the parents, too.

The last two days I've rescued baby snapping turtles from the MUP on my way to work. They are too small to bite, and look like small, black dinosaurs. I put them back in the wooded area next to the river, which the trail runs along. Then I read that as soon as they hatch, they head for the water. The little ones that I saw must have gotten confused. If I see any more, I'll put them in the river.

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Originally Posted by tulip

The last two days I've rescued baby snapping turtles from the MUP on my way to work. They are too small to bite, and look like small, black dinosaurs. I put them back in the wooded area next to the river, which the trail runs along. Then I read that as soon as they hatch, they head for the water. The little ones that I saw must have gotten confused. If I see any more, I'll put them in the river.

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Hi, tulip--what's the MUP? I was in your town last weekend--my bro lives in Adams Morgan. I spent Friday afternoon walking around the Phillips, then up Connecticut and across the zoo. I love our nation's capital! What a beautiful town. I always experience it as a delightful blend of urban and natural beauty. I had one of the worst allergy days I think I've ever had, though. I just kept taking more antihistamines and decongestants--went to bed still sneezing and snuffling. Once we started driving down to VA for the wedding, it all went away.

MP--I was clearly post-call to even imagine a 45' long snake. (Post-call: After an intense call shift, my thinking isn't the clearest) Still. 4-5'. Yikes. I love looking at llamas. I spent some time in Peru at age 17, as an exchange student. There's a little, fluffy toy llama on my desk even now, with a red and white ribbon around his neck, the colors of the Peruvian flag. :)

lots of farm animals - cows and sheep mostly but i had to get past four horses that were been walked down the street the other day - but I guess they are not really wildlife

bunnies if I go to bottle lake early enough (which I haven't for a very long time), pukeko (usually alive, but road kill disturbingly often) and possums (only as road kill)

I don't think there is anything more irritating than having a kangaroo jump out in front of you. They can grow up to 6-foot tall. They really are very stupid and they always seem to be in the way.

Once when I was out on a training ride in a rural area someone's pet kangaroo started chasing after me. I tried to sprint away from it but they are soooo fast. It followed me for about 4 kilometres, so I stopped and got off my bike and tried chasing it away, but unfortunately that didn't work. In the end I had to ride all the way back until I found the owners of this kangaroo who told me that they constantly take it out for exercise using their motorbike and they were not suprised that it followed me.

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Originally Posted by mellic

I don't think there is anything more irritating than having a kangaroo jump out in front of you. They can grow up to 6-foot tall. They really are very stupid and they always seem to be in the way.

Once when I was out on a training ride in a rural area someone's pet kangaroo started chasing after me. I tried to sprint away from it but they are soooo fast. It followed me for about 4 kilometres, so I stopped and got off my bike and tried chasing it away, but unfortunately that didn't work. In the end I had to ride all the way back until I found the owners of this kangaroo who told me that they constantly take it out for exercise using their motorbike and they were not suprised that it followed me.

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See, this is just one of the reasons that I love this board. You'll never get a story even remotely like this one from Chicago! :D We pay money to go look at kangaroos in the zoo! :p

Welp, we saw three herons and a skunk up close last night -- don't often see skunks *alive* around here.
But what's MUP - Middle Upraised Peninsula? Mired Under Pavement? Municipal Underpass Park?

have you ever drafted a bumbble-bee???



quite amusing...and not much help:p
***i was sure to keep him away from my boobs tho...hehe